Cedefop presents CrowdLearn study, a glimpse into future work and learning

EuropeActive attended Cedefop’s 8th Brussels seminar to learn more about the ‘CrowdLearn Study Skills formation and skill matching in online platform work’ on 10 December. Key results indicated that crowed workers prefer bite-sized online courses and micro learning and tend to see little value in professional training and development. Moreover, the study highlighted the challenging role of client feedback scores and algorithmic management used by digital platforms to match services and requests.

Driven by digital and economic developments, the platform work – matching of supply of and demand for paid labour through an online platform – is an emerging new form of employment in the European labour markets. This type of work yields new forms of learning opportunities. Within the framework of Cedefop’s ‘Digitalisation, AI and future of work’ project, the research institute focused on investigating the skills most often developed in crowd work, learning practices, skill gaps and demarcate the challenges associated with new forms of algorithmic skills matching that takes place in the online platform economy.

2% of European adults in 14-member use crowed work as a main source of income, suggesting that 11% of EU citizens earning some part of their income through such platforms. And the figures are increasing at a fast pace: between mid-2016 to early 2019, platforms were growing by 70%. These developments provide a valuable insight in the future of professional skills formation and employment in the European Fitness sector. With its EU-funded project Blueprint, EuropeActive and partners aim at addressing future labour market related challenges.